Okehampton primary school gets defibrillator

Devon Air Ambulance provides kit

An Okehampton primary school has a new defibrillator, thanks to Devon Air Ambulance.

Pupils are St James aren't expected to use it necessarily, but they're thrilled to be looking after the live-saving piece of equipment.
 
It's part of the Devon charity's ‘Help with all your Heart’ campaign to help people become more confident in stepping in to help someone in cardiac arrest should the need arise. 

Last year, Devon Air Ambulance crews attended 333 patients suffering cardiac arrests - and another 142 already this year.

Operations Manager Darren Goodwin said: "We were incredibly pleased that the team at St. James accepted our offer of fitting the spare defibrillator at their school. Positioning it at school will also help to familiarise our younger generations with the kit and enable them to see these as something ‘ordinary’ that can be used by anyone to help to save a life.  

‘Coupled with our recent training sessions, we are confident that by making more of these units available across the local communities we serve, more people will feel confident in offering assistance before professional medical help arrives.’ 

 Devon Air Ambulance is hoping to hold more Defib/CPR training sessions in the county later in the year.